USD should implement better ways to advocate eating disorder awareness
As a society, we’ve made valuable progress in acknowledging mental disorders and spreading awareness. This progress, however, doesn’t mean we’re anywhere near where we should be, especially regarding the mental illnesses of eating disorders.
Seemingly taboo topics, eating disorders are easily forgotten, despite the fact that they’re major problems on campuses nationwide. To take a step in a positive, healthy direction, USD should fund and support more efforts to educate students about eating disorders.
While the American culture of fad diets and fast food may influence negative mindsets toward food and body image, colleges are optimal environments for eating disorders to thrive.
According to USA Today, a quarter of college students have or will experience an eating disorder; the major life transition and all the stressors involved in college can be triggering.
Additionally, unhealthy eating practices, such as eating on the go or even sleeping instead of eating to save money, become everyday staples. When these become habits and are accompanied with psychological problems, eating disorders flourish.
If so many college students are under the control of an eating disorder, why aren’t they seeking help?
One survey by the Eating Disorders Recovery Center found students didn’t seek treatment for reasons such as being unwilling or embarrassed to seek treatment, or being unaware of having a problem or treatment options.
Awareness and education are powerful tools in fighting the current ignorance, fear and terror surrounding eating disorders.
Because people know little about them, they’ve generated many stigmas and stereotypes. Only those personally affected by eating disorders generally know the full extent of their reach and severity.
Those who do suffer rarely speak out in fear of society’s reaction to the official—or unofficial—diagnosis.
Eating disorders are mental disorders. Rather than a teenage girl staring at fashion models, people of any race, gender or age can develop symptoms.
Studies also show a majority of symptoms, especially those of anorexia, are hereditary and are triggered by environmental and cultural factors. Other disorders, such as bulimia and binge-eating disorder, are just as dangerous.
Eating disorders result in physical, mental and emotional harm. When left untreated, eating disorders can lead to permanent physical damage ranging from hair loss to damage to the heart, osteoporosis and infertility or virility, and in the worst cases, death.
In fact, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder, and a suicide rate that is 50 times higher than that of the general population.
I’ve suffered from a restrictive eating disorder for about four years, going through periods of recovery and relapse. The hectic nature of college life made it easy for those dark thoughts to take control, and I neglected receiving help until late into the school year when my physical health deteriorated.
I urge those who suspect a problem in themselves or loved ones to find treatment, especially taking advantage of free options on campus. And to those who don’t exhibit the “typical” symptoms, who may think they “aren’t sick enough”— your feelings are valid and equally deserving of treatment.
Some colleges are taking action through on-campus organizations focused on educating the public and promotion of free access to counseling and nutrition services.
Other campuses observe NEDA’s annual National Eating Disorders Awareness every February. This year’s campaign focused on taking a three-minute online screening test.
Administrators, staff and students all have the responsibility to take appropriate action to reach out to victims and empower them.
Silence and isolation fuel eating disorders — that’s where they grow, shrouded in misunderstanding and shame.
The only way to alleviate misconceptions is to start a conversation. The more comfortable we become, the sooner we can start learning about how to fight these diseases.
